What’s going on with Weight Watchers? With the CEO stepping down, a new body-positive approach, continual app changes, closing the WW food program, and the introduction of weight loss medication with WW Clinic, members wonder what’s next for the company.
Plus, the big question on everyone’s mind is whether there will be a new points plan in 2024. Read on to learn more.
New! WW Clinic Will Offer Compounded GLP-1 Medication
Weight Watchers announced on October 8, 2024, that they will now offer the option of compounded semaglutide medication for those members of the WW Clinic who qualify.
According to a press release,
“We know that compounded semaglutide can be an important option for those seeking weight loss support, given its greater availability and affordability,” said Dr. Jamil Alkhaddo, Medical Director of WeightWatchers. “In fact, over 50% of current WeightWatchers members have expressed consideration of a compounded GLP-1 for their journey. That’s why, after months of thorough research, and careful evaluation of multiple facilities, we partnered with a trusted, FDA-registered 503B facility that meets our high standards for quality and patient care — so our eligible members can feel confident in this new option as a trusted part of their weight loss plan.”
Weight Watchers International
Read the press release about this WW weight loss medication program change here.
These require a prescription from a doctor (WW Clinic offers the option to meet with a telehealth doctor). Still, the medication is compounded in a pharmacy and not the name-brand medication from the drug manufacturer.
This is a surprising announcement since the FDA has expressed concerns about compounded weight loss medications, and several states have banned the use of compounded GLP-1 medications like semaglutide.
What are your thoughts about this most recent offer? Share in the comments below.
Weight Watchers Leadership Changes
On September 27, 2024, Weight Watchers announced that Sima Sistani, CEO for the last two and a half years, would be stepping down immediately.
Sistani is known for leading the company into new territory by purchasing Sequence, now called Weight Watchers Clinic. This optional program allows members to meet with a telehealth doctor and, if they qualify, be prescribed weight loss medications such as Wegovy and Zepbound.
Sistani is also known for her bold apology for ways the company hurt members in the past. She stated, “For many who are living with obesity, it’s a chronic condition, and therefore, it is not a choice.”
In May, WW and Oprah Winfrey (who resigned from the board of directors) hosted a live event called Making the Shift to further the conversation.
Sistani also led Weight Watchers to close their commercial food and product program.
While the future of WW may be murky, what is clear is that the company is in a bleak financial situation that needs to be turned around quickly.
Tara Comonte will serve as Interim Chief Executive Officer.
Will There Be a New Points Plan in 2024?
Traditionally, WW introduces a new food program every two years in November, just in time for members to learn the new system before the January rush of people with a renewed focus on weight loss.
Since the last plan was introduced in 2022, a new plan would be expected next month. While we can’t say for sure, it appears that a new plan will NOT be introduced in November 2024.
Typically, during years when a new plan is coming, there are signs of it coming, like:
- Selected people participating in pilot (test) programs of a new food plan.
- Older WW plan cookbooks and foods go on sale.
- The new program is rolled out early in other countries, such as New Zeland and Australia.
- WW Leaders are told a new plan is coming and may be invited to use it early. While Leaders can’t give specifics, they often tell people in meetings to expect changes soon.
So far in 2024, none of those situations have occurred.
Given the leadership changes and WW’s drastic stock value drop, we suspect the company is focused on other areas.
The Body Collective Podcast
Weight Watchers announced a collaboration with influencers from the Body Positivity Movement with a new podcast called The Body Collective.
Katie Sturino, a Body Acceptance advocate and influencer in the body-positive space, is hosting the new podcast. The show will discuss issues like weight loss medications, dating as a plus-sized person, and feeling comfortable in your body.
Learn more about the new podcast here. (Warning – includes the F-word.)
Judging from comments on Instagram, the podcast is controversial among WW members and those in the body-positive movement.
Updated Approach: Weight Watchers Fits You
The company’s newest marketing campaign includes commercials focusing on various weight loss options now offered to members:
- Points
- Doctors
- Medications
- Dieticians
The goal is to offer more options covered by insurance, such as meeting with a Registered Dietician or a telehealth doctor.
WW Meetings & Gather Pilot Program
Weight Watchers is leading a pilot program of “Gathers” with the company Peoplehood.
The meetings, led by Laura Smith, offer a new type of group support. People on this Weight Watchers message board have shared their experiences.
According to those in the pilot group, the Gathers include breathing, stretching, group sharing, and a 1:1 breakout session with one person talking and one person listening. Weigh-ins are optional.
WW Member Concerns
I have been WW member for many years, lost 100 pounds, am at my goal weight and Lifetime, and interact with hundreds of people, both WW members and non-members, every month.
Here are the concerns I hear expressed from Weight Watchers members in recent months:
- Loss of in-person meetings in many areas
- Lack of healthy guidelines
- Weight loss stalls in the current program or people missing a previous program, especially the Blue, Green, and Purple plans
- Confusion about zero-point foods
- Missing WW commercial foods
- Missing the rewards program
- Lack of printed materials
- Loss of the desktop computer WW options, such as inputting recipes
- Concerns about the focus on weight loss medications like the GLP-1s – Ozempic, Mounjaro, Wegovy, and Zepbound
Do you have concerns about where WW is headed? Share about it in the comments below.
The Holy Mess: Support for Your Weight Loss Journey
The Holy Mess is here to help you get to your weight loss and wellness goals.
We offer:
- Healthy & easy recipes
- Meal plans & cookbooks
- Courses and workshops
- Group weight loss challenges & events
- YouTube videos
- The Holy Mess Weight Loss and Wellness Facebook group with weekly live videos
Be sure to join our email list to stay up to date.
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I would like to have the science back with the three fast facts and also would like to have the weekly topic back. It helped my journey.
Im having a hard time being a WW member right now, I dont support their efforts in the podcast at all… the cussing is not cool. They’ve went this really weird direction, its like they had a spreadsheet of member requests and did everything opposite. Im fine with members taking meds, you do you but making it WW’s entire focus could be the end of points system. Part of me wonders if points will go away and they will weight watchers clinic only.
I was looking forward to a new point program, I’ve struggled since this 2022 iteration was introduced. The app has went down IMO when favorites and created foods moved from the database to favorites area. Now with the website gone I dont look/create recipes anymore or meal plan, too much on my phone/ipad. I miss the colors option and looking to cancel my WW membership today.
I miss the old Weight Watchers especially meetings. We like gathering together and expressing our victories our mistakes. I used to love looking over the materials and the products and purchasing them at the end of the meeting. I also miss the old plans. Everyone is different and having a choice of a plan to follow was so helpful. Maybe they could develop an app that makes you choose your own plan. That would be super. Bottom line I feel the changes are definitely not for the better
3 things I miss the most: no desktop access anymore, Weight Watchers commercial products (the bars saved me), and in person meetings. I’ve recently moved to the small town of Lake Havasu City, AZ and there is not an in person meeting anywhere close. Need to get back on track again and on line just isn’t the same!
Weight Watchers used to be a family. Now it seems it is only interested in profit.
I am a former Weight Watchers Lifetime Member in Ireland.
Irish members were shocked and confused as to why Weight Watchers abandoned us and pulled out of Ireland.
I for one don’t agree with their emphasis on Weight loss drugs such as ozrmpec. Its a dangerous road to go down. It seems WW has surrendered to big Pharma corporations
Not a good move!
Don’t ruin Weight Watcher’s by going woke! When companies listen to the small but noisy lefties, they offend their mainstream members all across the country. Please ditch the politics and get back to basics!!!
I really miss the in person meetings close by and I really really miss the weight watchers 2 points a bag chips.
I was never a fan of Oprahs. And I will not be taking any meds to lose weight, not in this day and age with how our economy struggles. I’m doing it the right way. Sticking with The Holy Mess. Keeping my 23 points and going slow.
Thanks so much for being a part of The Holy Mess. Rest assured, we aren’t going anywhere. And, we have some great plans for 2025. ~~LaNette Whiteside
The cussing doesn’t bother me at all. I’m just upset that since the 2022 changes I have not had successfully and have gained back 40 of the 90 lbs I lost. I miss weekly newsletter letters, the Wellness Wins rewards, more frequent new recipes, etc. It was also hard to deal with my points reducing overnight and the fact that points on some of my common foods raised. I tried for 2 years to to continue and felt defeated and down on myself because , after previous 3.5 years of awesome success on multiple WW variations, I was unable to stick with it for a week. I finally canceled and was in tears. 3 days later the CEO left and was excited for a potential November overhaul, but the news of the compounded GLP1 crushed those hopes. I’m enrolled in a group class for free through my health insurance. It includes group lessons and highly responsive coaching from the dietitian / personal trainer. I get 36 weeks for free and I’m seeing success. The instructor states that although WW doesn’t conflict with the strategies in this plan, the calories on the current WW plan gave a greater chance of being too low.
Thanks so much for being a valued member of The Holy Mess. Rest assured, we aren’t going anywhere. And, 2025 is filled with fun, useful plans, challenges and recipes.
I don’t like not being able to go to workshops within 25 miles from my cabin, (it’s not worth it for me to drive 100 miles round trip, and thats one of the closest to my cabin, just to attend a workshop and weigh in). In regards to the app, I miss getting the weekly topic on Sunday morning, printing it up and looking at it before I attend my workshop, and reviewing itwhen i need so.e inspiration. I will continue to attend my Saturday workshop as I need the accountability, comraderie and I am at goal. Thank you Sara for keeping us posted.
I dontblike not being able to go to workshops within 25 miles from my cabin,(it’s not worth it for me to drive 100 miles round trip, just to attend a workshop and weigh in). In regards to the app, I miss getting the weekly topic on Sunday morning, printing it up and looking at it before I attend my workshop, and reviewing itwhen i need so.e inspiration. I will continue to attend my Saturday workshop as I need the accountability, comraderie and I am at goal. Thank you Sara for keeping us posted.
My workshop recently closed. I will be having to drive over 3 hours round trip once a month to maintain my Lifetime. I’m not sure yet if it’s going to be worth it or not. The Holy Mess has helped me every bit as much as WW, and in many ways, even more.
~~ LaNette Whiteside, Community Care Coordinator @ The Holy Mess
I don’t like that they focus on weight loss medication. I do know how to do the program if ww folded.it works for me.i liked the purple plan.
Thanks for commenting! I agree WW has had some very effective plans over the years. In my opinion, WW does the best when focusing on healthy eating and learning new behaviour ~~ LaNette Whiteside, Community Care Coordinator @ The Holy Mess
Quit WW last October, too many weigh ins were closed, yes I miss the monthly weigh ins because it kept me more on track.I always felt proud to weigh in monthly. I’m still doing well but discipline has slipped a little. I’m lucky I only battle losing 2 to 3 pounds. I don’t agree with weight watchers new ideas so I am on my own with the help of Sara and her group. Good luck to everyone, as they say… one day at a time!
For myself, I also liked the in-person meetings and being accountable at the scale. My local WW Workshop has recently closed. I’m very thankful that The Holy Mess never closes. ~~ LaNette Whiteside, Community Care Coordinator @ The Holy Mess
I have all of the same concerns that you have listed above. I would like to go back to the points plus program. Every time they change the program, I gain weight until I can get back to goal. It gets frustrating. I miss the WW products that I could buy in the meetings. I wish they would bring back the computer program. Being a senior it’s harder for me to create a recipe on the phone app. All these changes are very challenging. Like the old saying goes, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks”, but they still keep trying. I don’t know why they keep changing what wasn’t broken in the past.
Thanks for your comment. As a former WW Coach, I’ve heard many ladies say exactly what you just said. I miss the printed material too. It’d be great if both were offered, huh? ~~ LaNette Whiteside, Community Care Coordinator @ The Holy Mess
Feel WW absolutely lost its focus and became so fixed on gaining in the weight loss market. If it works, don’t fix it. Cancelling the meetings which were not only good for keeping you on track but a social time for a lot of people. Being a WW member for over 50 years-looking foreward to the meetings no matter where we moved in the country kept me grounded but I refused to do the online meetings. Seemed to me all they wanted to do was save themselves money-leaders who had given many years of their lives to the organization released from their jobs. I believe financial greed was the downfall of this organization and it abandoned many of their members. Thank you for the Holy Mess.
I completely agree with you! WW has always been a tried and trusted name in the area of healthy weight loss. I am sad to see them lose focus of what they have always done best…connect with people! So very thankful to have The Holy Mess Mess for friendship and support! ~~ LaNette Whiteside, Community Care Coordinator @ The Holy Mess
As a WW newbie, I can’t speak to missing anything or being concerned about past changes that have been made. I’m completely virtual without a workshop membership. I find the program super easy to navigate and appreciate the online community. I do wish virtual workshops were included with a basic membership as it would definitely be an added benefit to my journey. Overall, WW has been just what I need at this step in my journey! Who knows what 2025 will hold for WW, but it will still be part of my life as this journey of mine continues.
I’m proud you chose to include The Holy Mess as a part of your weight loss journey. Rest assured that The Holy Mess will be here to help you any way we can! ~~ LaNette Whiteside, Community Care Coordinator @ The Holy Mess
I want more printed material
I wish we had more meetings for in person
I like structure and its not like it use to be. I feel like I have to much freedom on it. But I do lose weight when I really try.
I really wanna have printed materials. I like to print and save the things to read.
I also miss being able to go on the desk top to use it.
My biggest concern is loss of meetings. I am very fortunate in that the center where I go did not close. We have a very active group and I know there are many in the group that do not want to see the meetings close. It’s a place for camaraderie, sharing ideas, successes, a supportive sounding board for people who are struggling. Virtual meetings just aren’t the same. I also miss rewards and some of the products. The younger generations are so used to just going to a device for everything, you lose the personal touch! Connect is good as a supporting tool, but you still don’t have that same connection you get from an in person workshop (sorry I used the old meeting word earlier).
Thank you for keeping us updated. I stepped away from WW during pandemic, virtual meetings just missed the mark … with no weigh ins, no one on one and then seemed to really flounder trying to find their footing post pandemic with seemingly monthly changes and no focus. I do miss the Blue plan and still look for recipes that reflect points and zero point foods. I appreciate you suggesting recipes.
I’m not sure any of these changes are going to be like the old WW program that worked for so many of us. Thank you, Sara, for the information.
WW has totally desserted loyal followers. Instead of Truly believing in the program that worked for so many of us, they have chosen to follow the celebrity approach of diet medications. Ophra may be happy with the quick fix, but what happens when you quit the meds?? The only one to put your trust in is God. I lost 96lbs using the ww approach and have pretty much maintained. Yes, ups and downs over the past 40+ yrs but always going back on program worked. Thank you for your encouragement and understanding what is Real.
Maybe Ophra can afford the drugs and doesnt mind the risks. Not all of us feel the same.
I agree with you. The Holy Mess has been an anchor for me. WW taught me a food plan, but The Holy Mess helped me find healing through God for all the struggles I’ve had all my life with food. ~~ LaNette Whiteside, Community Care Coordinator @ The Holy Mess